Michael Wejchert, writing in The New York Times, has alerted readers to a global warming problem that few, probably, have worried much about. As the earth warms, ice climbing is imperiled.
The Times' paywall permitting, you can read about this problem by clicking the following link. Wejchert's article was titled, in the hard copy edition, "How Much Longer Can Ice Climbing Last?" The answer? Not much longer. Since Wejchert makes his living as a climbing guide, this fact is obviously of significant importance to him.
Just in case it has escaped you (I know it hasn't), the problem that is putting Wejchert's job in peril is of consequence to everyone, including those of us who do not climb sheer ice cliffs for fun.
The World Wildlife Fund, for instance, lists lots of species and places that are being impacted by global warming (often called "climate change," identifying the problem by one of the consequences, instead of by the cause). The Encyclopedia Britannica also lists what it calls the "environmental problems" caused by global warming.
Our human world depends on the World of Nature, often called "the environment," and the kind of environmental changes that global warming is bringing have consequences in that "human world" in which we most immediately live.
If you want to think about the "human" consequences of global warming, Kim Stanley Robinson's book, The Ministry For The Future, may be even more revealing than strictly "scientific" accounts.
I have mentioned Robinson's book before, and as it turns out, at least the way I see it, the "environmental" dangers and challenges caused by global warming may be the least of our problems.
Image Credit:
https://www.cathedralmountainguides.com/about-us/michael-wejchert/
You are so right about the future and we are not working fast and hard enough to prevent disasters that make the massive earthquake in Turkey look appealing...I don't think we recognize how awful it's going to get...
ReplyDelete